A majority of MPs who support shooting sports has been identified by the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) – and 54 per cent of MPs elected to Westminster have indicated that they support shooting.
The figures come from information supplied by candidates to BASC’s election website. People used the site to contact their candidates before the election, sending thousands of emails to establish their views on shooting. The results showed that with 649 seats declared 349 elected MPs have indicated their support for shooting. Actually, 54 per cent of all elected MPs are supportive of shooting; 2.5 per cent are neutral; only 1.7 per cent – which equates to 11 MPs – are opposed to shooting. (41 per cent have not declared their position.)
Christopher Graffius, BASC director of communications, said: “The information provided to us comes from BASC members and other individuals who used our election website to contact candidates in the run-up to the election. That information is invaluable. It has allowed us to quickly establish the overall position of parliament on shooting supports.
“It is encouraging to discover a majority of MPs in the new parliament have declared their support for shooting. We have now begun work to contact MPs and to offer them more information and experience of shooting in all its forms in the UK.
“It also allows us to focus our attention on MPs who have not declared their position, and indeed those who have stated that they oppose shooting. We will be taking to them our message that shooting is a force for good in the UK. It generates £2 billion for the economy every year, creates jobs and supports rural economies. It also makes a significant contribution to conservation, which is recognised and acknowledged by government, statutory agencies and conservation organisations.”
BASC will shortly launch a parliamentary website to enable people who shoot to contact their MPs directly, details of which you’ll find on the BASC website
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Well-known airgun authority Nigel Allen is the editor of Britain's award-winning shooting magazine, Airgun Shooter (available worldwide). Email: nigel.allen@futurenet.com
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